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Friday, January 05, 2018

Team Up to Hunt

Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #1-3 (Dynamite, 2017, $3.99)
This is one of those crossover comics I was talking about. I've never read Hack/Slash; though I've been vaguely aware of it, I don't know anything about it at all. But I do enjoy Vampirella, so I sometimes pick up Vampirella material even if it's outside an ongoing series. It seems reasonable that someone who likes Hack/Slash might like Vampirella, and vice versa, but I'm not sure how big an audience such a crossover book will bring—or which reader is being brought to which property.

Regardless, the pairing works. Shawn Aldridge's writing is interesting and action-oriented enough that the comic reads well plot wise, and Rapha Lobosco's artwork is serious enough that it works for a horror comic—and light enough that it allows for the series' humor to come through. "Same s!@# used to happen whenever I'd see T-Boz in a TLC video."

The gist of the matter is this: Cassandra Hack is a monster hunter, kind of a cross between a movie-style Harley Quinn and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her partner in crime Vlad—the Slash of the pairing—might not be human and reminds me a little of Frankenstein by way of RanXerox. Vampirella, then, is Vampirella, alien vampire.

The three meet while in Las Vegas, as Vampirella hunts the Blood Red Queen of Hearts. They team up to hunt the villainess together, but things don't go entirely as planned. #1 is mostly setup, #2 features a funny meet cute between Slash and Vampirella—and identifies Hack as an unexpected threat—and #3 is mostly fight scene: fisticuffs and inner turmoil.

I'm not sure I'd read Hack/Slash on its own, but as a Vampirella comic, this is a fun series—worth picking up. As a crossover, while I think Vampirella is the stronger of the pairing, Hack/Slash holds up enough on its own that I can understand its existing as its own comic. This is no giant shouldering a lesser title, even if it's not an equal pairing.